The Future Of Beneficial Ownership In Bermuda – Transparency v Privacy

Written by Charles Searle, Guest Author, Associate (Secondee)

Introduction

Transparency or privacy – which of these priorities prevails? A ruling on 22 November 2022 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) might mean privacy prevails when it comes to the question of whether or not a public register of beneficial ownership will be legislated for in Bermuda any time soon.

On 12 July 2020, the Bermuda government made a commitment to "bring forward to the Legislature proposals to establish public access to beneficial ownership data of companies held on a central register" by January 2023. This was made in the context of the UK issuing a draft order¹ requiring that British Overseas Territories (BOTs) introduce publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in their respective jurisdictions by 2023.